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| Russell Brand: Sachsgate was down to bias against BBC | Russell Brand: Sachsgate was down to bias against BBC |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| The so-called Sachsgate controversy erupted because of a bias against the BBC, comedian Russell Brand has said. | The so-called Sachsgate controversy erupted because of a bias against the BBC, comedian Russell Brand has said. |
| Brand and fellow presenter Jonathan Ross caused a storm in 2008 when they broadcast lewd answerphone messages left for veteran actor Andrew Sachs. | Brand and fellow presenter Jonathan Ross caused a storm in 2008 when they broadcast lewd answerphone messages left for veteran actor Andrew Sachs. |
| He told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs the incident was exploited by elements of the media seeking to "attack and diminish the BBC". | He told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs the incident was exploited by elements of the media seeking to "attack and diminish the BBC". |
| He also said he hoped to marry again after his divorce last year. | He also said he hoped to marry again after his divorce last year. |
| 'Position of vulnerability' | 'Position of vulnerability' |
| The Sachsgate affair resulted in Brand and the controller of Radio 2 resigning, Ross being suspended from broadcasting for three months and a review being held into the way BBC output was vetted. | The Sachsgate affair resulted in Brand and the controller of Radio 2 resigning, Ross being suspended from broadcasting for three months and a review being held into the way BBC output was vetted. |
| Brand told Desert Island Discs presenter Kirsty Young: "Anything that damages something I love, I'm going to feel sorry for. | Brand told Desert Island Discs presenter Kirsty Young: "Anything that damages something I love, I'm going to feel sorry for. |
| "And I'm sorry also because the story I tell myself, of myself, is not that I am a man who is rude to people who are in a position of vulnerability - but what's difficult, Kirsty, is there was obviously a pre-existing agenda in privately-owned media to destabilise, attack and diminish the BBC." | "And I'm sorry also because the story I tell myself, of myself, is not that I am a man who is rude to people who are in a position of vulnerability - but what's difficult, Kirsty, is there was obviously a pre-existing agenda in privately-owned media to destabilise, attack and diminish the BBC." |
| He claimed the thousands of people who complained were motivated by an agenda against publicly-funded media. | He claimed the thousands of people who complained were motivated by an agenda against publicly-funded media. |
| He said: "Listen, Kirsty, after the show there were two complaints. After it was in the Daily Mail there were subsequently 42,000 complaints." | He said: "Listen, Kirsty, after the show there were two complaints. After it was in the Daily Mail there were subsequently 42,000 complaints." |
| Brand added: "I'm sure their offence was genuine - it was wrong, and I apologise for that - but how the information is presented is important." | Brand added: "I'm sure their offence was genuine - it was wrong, and I apologise for that - but how the information is presented is important." |
| He continued: "The thing I want to address here, the thing that 42,000 people were offended by is offensive. It is offensive if someone calls up an answerphone, does some swearing, hangs up. | He continued: "The thing I want to address here, the thing that 42,000 people were offended by is offensive. It is offensive if someone calls up an answerphone, does some swearing, hangs up. |
| "But if, incrementally, that act is led to by a series of innuendos and in-jokes, then it is a different thing. It is still a thing that is wrong, but it's not the thing that they are offended by." | "But if, incrementally, that act is led to by a series of innuendos and in-jokes, then it is a different thing. It is still a thing that is wrong, but it's not the thing that they are offended by." |
| Brand, who split from US singer Katy Perry last year, also revealed he had become weary of being a celebrity. | Brand, who split from US singer Katy Perry last year, also revealed he had become weary of being a celebrity. |
| "I really, really embraced it at the beginning - I was excited by the accoutrements of fame, but now I've progressed, I feel," he said. | "I really, really embraced it at the beginning - I was excited by the accoutrements of fame, but now I've progressed, I feel," he said. |
| "I was talking to some friends yesterday and I thought, 'Oh my God, the things that I want are a wife, somewhere to live.' | "I was talking to some friends yesterday and I thought, 'Oh my God, the things that I want are a wife, somewhere to live.' |
| "However extraordinary and exciting I might like to present myself as being, in the end, I'd just like to sit down and watch telly with someone and hold hands." | "However extraordinary and exciting I might like to present myself as being, in the end, I'd just like to sit down and watch telly with someone and hold hands." |